PGA Tour star shares joyful personal news ahead of The Open Championship

Sam Burns will tee it up at The Open today after fears he would be forced to miss the year's final major were eased by the early arrival of his daughter.

For several weeks, Burns' place in the field at Royal Birkdale had been far from certain.

The American's mother had even suggested he was likely to remain at home in Louisiana as he awaited the birth of his second child with wife Caroline, putting his Open Championship hopes in serious doubt.

Instead, events unfolded in Burns' favour.

The couple welcomed daughter Belle on 3 July, 11 days before her expected due date, giving the five-time PGA Tour winner enough time to travel to England and prepare for golf's oldest major. Belle joins the family alongside older brother Bear.

"I was expecting to be at home," Burns admitted in an interview with PGA Tour.

With his parents staying behind to help Caroline and the children, Burns was able to make the journey across the Atlantic and arrive at Royal Birkdale on Monday.

The 29-year-old has eased into tournament week with a series of nine-hole practice rounds, including a back-nine session alongside World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on Wednesday. 

The World No.18 begins his Open Championship challenge today at 2:31pm local time, when he tees it up alongside Adam Scott and Chris Gotterup in the opening round at Royal Birkdale.

Burns heads into The Open in encouraging form after finishing runner-up at last month's U.S. Open. 

He came within touching distance of the title before losing out to Wyndham Clark, later speaking emotionally about his desire to win on Father's Day as a tribute to his own father.

Although the timing of Belle's arrival allowed Burns to compete this week, he admitted the decision to leave home was not an easy one.

"I still wasn't sure if I could get there mentally," Burns said.

"It's just a weird dynamic of having a new baby, and you want to be there for them and your family. I think it was ultimately my decision of, could I get there from a mental standpoint of having to leave?"

Now settled at Royal Birkdale and with his family safely back home in Louisiana, Burns has the chance to put the emotions of the past few weeks behind him and focus on landing the one accolade still missing from his career — a maiden major championship.